This indeed proves that the tape I uncovered in the closet of the MASTERING LAB of WHO'S NEXT back in 1985 was indeed the original British master mixes. Thought so but could never figure out how it got there. This is the tape I used to master the CD version of the album. I guess these same tapes were "DISCOVERED" a few years ago as well..
I posted this a couple of years ago. IMO the US W1 / W1 is the king. Mine was bought new and is still in the cellophane http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=58390
The booklet of the Deluxe Edition of Who's Next contains pictures of the "newly discovered" master tapes with MG12888/MG12889 on the box covers. Indeed the "7" was added later to the US Decca Sax cuts.
I had no doubt that you worked on the CD from the master tapes, which was the reason for all my dead wax reading to make sense of all this madness. It is amazing how you can track down all those master tapes. By the way, Steve, do those tapes have Moon's drum sound like his stick hitting "skin" (drum skin), as opposed to the way it sounds on some of the "later" vinyl pressings? On the original Track and, to a large extent, on the W2 Decca, the drum sounds real in that sense. On some of the other pressings, the drum does not have as much of that "skin" sound and the cymbals have less shimmer (not reverb, just shimmer) and sound more tinny. Also, do those tapes have the entire bass range in the same volume? The original Track (and Side 1 of the Decca) has a well-defined bass, which tends to have the same volume whether it is mid-bass or low-bass. Sometimes, I can't "hear" the low-bass as well, but I can "feel" the vibration at about the same "volume". Also, on the vocals, the original Track and the Decca sound less distorted and definitely more focused and clearer. Finally, on the other pressings, the electric guitar sometimes sounds indistinguishable from an electric piano, whereas on the original Track and Decca, it clearly sounds like an electric guitar, even if the sound is embedded among other louder instruments in the mix (including another electric guitar). This whole exercise has made me a huge fan of Doug Sax, but more importantly, it has made me realize yet again how much research and hard work you put into your projects.
New discovery to throw in the mix. I've alway enjoyed listening to German Polydor pressing but did not pull it out during the recent shootout to verify Sung's pet theory. Well, I just completed listening to the German Polydor pressing, UK "Bilbo" and US Decca W2/W2, and to my surprise, German Polydor and US Decca W2/W2 was neck to neck. This got me curious. I decided to check the stamper in the dead wax of the German Polydor: Side 1: 00 2480 056 S1 MG 12888 with 888 tilted to the right. Side 2: 00 2480 056 S2 MG 12889 with 889 tilted to the right. The German Polydor actually sounded quieter than any pressing I have, my guess is that the well known German Teldec mixture was used.
I have a US Decca W2/W2 and its all I want to listen to when I want to hear Who's Next. It sounds great, I always preferred it and after reading this thread I can see why.
Okay, late to the game here but I have UK Track A//1 MG 12888 B//2 US Deccas MG71288-W2 MG71289-W2 2X MG 12888-W3 MG 12889-W3 MG7-12888-W1-2 (THis one the - of the G goes inward) MG7-12889-W1 (THis one the - of the G goes outward) And a new contestant 79182-A (hand etched) Then machine stamped 7 12888 E-1 79182-B (hand etched) 7-MG 12889 W1-2 X (Hand etched and the MG 12889 is not written like the others)
Who's Next Decca DL79182 Side 1: MG7-12888-W1 1 3 Side 2: MG7-12889-W1 1 2 And because I'm a member of this forum, another copy. Side 1: MG7-12888-W1-2 1 2 Side 2: MG7-12889-W1-2 1 2 All inscribed by hand.
I have the following... US Decca DL 79192 MG7-12888-W1 MG7-12889-W1-2 US MCA Rainbow Label (1973) MG7-12888 W-2 X MG7-12889 W-2 X US MCA Tan Label (1977) MG-7-12888-ML1 TML-M MG-7-12889-ML1 TML-M 1. UK Track Label 2408102 A//1 12 1 29 MG 12888 2408102 B//2 420 12 26 2. UK Track Label 2408102 A//1 1 1 30 MG 12888 2408102 B//2 420 12 27 and for those 'really' interested here is a great website... http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/Whosnext.htm ENJOY! WAY TO GO SUNG!!! JG
Hey Sung I have both the track you mention in your post as well as a MINT w2 Decca and I like the Decca US a bit more bass seems to sound like it should considering who the bass player is. Now don't get me wrong I think the track is an excellent sounding Lp I bought mine a couple of months before getting the US Decca so I was very familar with the sound of it vs the US Decca but after several listening sessions to the US I just heard more bottom end energy vs the UK Track, Oh by the way nice post and very helpfull.
Wow...I'm glad you have a good sounding German pressing. I didn't think one existed! My German pressing from the Who's "Phases" box set sounds like poop!
How many pressings have 8-13-71 handwritten in the deadwax? I have a US Decca pressing: Side 1: DL79182 A 712888 with the 8-13-71. Side 2: DL79182 B 712889 with the 8-13-71. This must be an early east coast pressing unless the 8-13-71 is on all copies. Any help would be appreciared.
There was a mastering engineer for US London (for example, US Rolling Stone LPs from the late 60's to early 70's, Al Green's Hi/London LP from the early 70's, and Moody Blues, Days of the Future Past LP on London) who inscribed by hand the date of the mastering. I believe that your copy was mastered by that same engineer. I am not sure about this, but one several of those other artists that I have with the date hand-etched on the dead wax, there was also a "Shelley" hand-etched, which I believe is the name of the engineer. I just LOVE all the "Shelley" pressings.
A German pressing (mistakenly described by the seller as a Japanese pressing) just ended on eBay and I think the winning bid was less than $2.00. Ouch! Had I seen Mikelakers' post prior the bidding ended, I would have bid on it. Oh well. By the way, I am not trying to convince the folks here that the first UK Track pressing with A//1 MG 12888 B//2 on the dead wax is the best sounding. It is definitely the best sounding to me. But as we all know, everyone has a different taste in what sounds he/she likes and that is just a matter of preference, unless objectively one can say that one pressing sounds closer to the master tapes in all areas. Also, thanks to James, Mike, Ryan, pbthal and others for posting the dead wax matrices of the copies that they have.
My 2 Decca copies have these numbers both hand written. MG7-12888-W1 MG7-12889-W1 MG7-12888-W1 MG7-12889-W1-1
I'd be curious to hear more about the pressings the the Phases box. Had one once, and felt like Joe did about the WN in it. Were all Phases WN's the same pressing??
I just picked up the Classic Records 200 gram Who's Next, and I don't need it to sound any better than that! I didn't know it could sound that good!!! THe 3 versions of the CD I have are going into storage, and I'm needle dropping this vinyl!!! Frank R
Ok. I just took another look at one of my pressings. There is no "Shelly" but I noticed some super small etching, so small I had to get a magnifying glass. It says "SW 8-11-71".
How does the MCA Masterphile Series (mastered at half speed) compare with some of these other fine Who's Next vinyl issues? I've owned this copy since the 80's and have never felt a need to upgrade.
I have it also, all I can say is upgrade. It is by far the worst sounding of almost all pressings. Sorry
What is the general opinion about the MFSL CD Gold of Who's Next? I see it selling for quite a lot of money on Ebay these days.
There are several threads on that subject. Please try the "search" function. This thread deals with Who's Next vinyl.
